In Safe Hands*
by oOAnime AngelOo
Summary: (Wow...it's done...) Jim is having horrible nightmares over and over, and he doesn't know why. Can Gene help him figure out what they mean?
1.

In Safe Hands

**IN SAFE HANDS**

**By: Anime Angel~^0^**

It was happening again.

_Seven year old Jim ran down the alleyway as quickly as he could, trying desperately to escape the men behind him. He hadn't wanted to steal, but when the small boy had seen their heaping plates of food he couldn't help but feel like God had put them there for him. But now, as he ran for his life, Jim realized his mistake in taking what he needed._

_"Come back here you little brat!" one of them yelled, the others laughing cruelly behind him. Jim shuddered in the cold as their footsteps grew nearer...he was at a dead end._

_"No...no please don't!" he whimpered, backing as far as he could into the back corner of the alley. The men were almost on top of him now, all of them grinning demonically. Why were they doing this? Judging by their size, they didn't need that food! Were they after the boy for just pure enjoyment? _

_But Jim didn't have much more time to think about this as he realized that the men were now standing directly in front of him, glaring menacingly. They were huge, especially to Jim, who was only about four feet tall, and very thin. The men in front of him were like giants, exactly like the monsters the boy had always imagined were hiding in the dark._

_"Now boy," the biggest one hissed, grabbing the much smaller Jim by what was left of his shirt. "You're going to pay...I had to pay for that food and planned on enjoying it. You filthy bastard! You just had to go and knock it all over the ground, didn't ya?"_

_"Please....I'm sorry!" Jim wailed, inching away from the rough, calloused hand that was slowly closing itself around his throat._

_"Really....well it's a little late now, isn't it?" the man sneered, his face now inches from Jim's. "'Sorry isn't going to help bring back my money...or my food! IS IT?!"_

_"No...STOP PLEASE! I--" The boy's frantic wails were cut off the man began to throttle him harshly, shaking the boy back and forth violently and all the while forcing his thumbs down harder and harder into Jim's small neck...._

"C'mon wake up! It's just a nightmare!"

Jim jolted awake with a start, thrashing about wildly, and immediately found himself looking into calm, dark eyes. He blinked once or twice before finally realizing that it was his older partner's eyes that he was staring into. The boy forced his frantic movements to a stop.

"A...Ani....An...." Jim found himself suddenly unable to speak, and licked his lips in frustration. His throat...his throat felt odd. Tight almost... 

He opened his mouth again, and this time words came out. "Aniki...what happened?" The sentence came out almost as a small sob, and Gene put an arm around Jim reassuringly.

"You were having a nightmare kid," Gene informed the sweat-soaked boy. He shook the blond a little, just to make sure that he was awake, and his gesture was met with a small whimper. "Hell, you almost woke everyone in the house up with all of that yelling!"

Jim looked around wearily. As his eyes shifted slowly around the room, he realized that everything really had been just a nightmare, something in his mind. But the images were still there, the images of those three men...the feel of their hands around his neck...

"Hey, you okay?"

Jim looked up at his older partner and let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah," he whispered, falling against Gene's shoulder. For a moment the boy felt the outlaw's muscles tense, but then they relaxed and instead Jim felt himself being lowered back down into his awaiting pillow. 

"Well, I'm goin' back to bed then...you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Aniki. Just don't worry about it..." Jim forced a smile. He really didn't want Gene to leave, but then again he also didn't want his partner to know anything was wrong either. He didn't want the outlaw to know that he had been having these horrifying nightmares for almost three or four nights...

With a slight nod, the outlaw grinned back. "All right then, but next time try not to be so loud!" And with that Jim's older partner was gone, leaving the boy alone in his dark room.

Subconsciously Jim rubbed his throat. That nightmare had marked the fourth one that week, but the thing was that they were always the same; the men and the fear and the pain were always there. The one that he had just experienced, though, seemed worse than the others. Worse in a way that he couldn't describe.

Everything about it had seemed so familiar, but what was it? Jim couldn't recall ever being strangled by a bunch of dirty men, so why did he feel like it had happened to him before? Then a frightening thought pushed its way into his mind: _did_ it happen before?

"Must be the TV I've been watching lately," the boy said to no one in particular, dismissing his previous thoughts and slowly drifting off to sleep, this time a more peaceful slumber.

Gene sat down with a heavy thud at the kitchen table that morning, groaning. It had been the fourth time that he had been rudely awaken during the night, and the lack of sleep was really getting to him. That morning alone he had slept in far too long (even for Gene) and the girls were already gone....shopping, working, or whatever it was they did. 

"Dammit," he mumbled, resting his head on the table. For the last four days he had awaken to the same sounds of his young partner thrashing about, and each time he had laid awake for hours on end, just listening to the boy. But that night...that night had been different. Jim had seemed more frantic, and instead of the usual murmurs the boy had begun to scream. 

But it wasn't the fact that he was losing sleep that frustrated the outlaw, it was the fact that he had no idea what to do about his partner. There had to be something wrong -- something causing the nightmares -- but what was it? Gene just had no idea how to handle the situation, besides comfort the boy and wake him up from the dreams.

"Hey Aniki...sorry 'bout last night."

Gene rose from the table with a start at the sound of Jim's soft, tired voice, and whirled around. There, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, was the blond. _Wonder how long he's been standing there..._

"It's okay, kid. I mean, I have nightmares too ya know." The outlaw sat back down, and motioned for Jim to come over. "You wanna talk about anything...? I mean, is there anything wrong?"

Jim shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine." He grinned. "Just the usual bad dream that all kids get. I think it's from watching that horror movie, you know? The one we saw last week." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "The....The...."

"The Revenge of the Mummy!" Gene laughed, recalling the dubbed, black and white film that he and his younger partner had gone to see just a few days before. Remembering that night lightened the outlaw's mood a bit, but Gene couldn't help but wonder about his young friend. A movie seemed a good enough excuse for having bad dreams...but was that really what the kid was having nightmares about? Jim had seen worse movies than that, WAY worse movies than that. 

"Yeah...that one!" the boy said after a moment of thought. Jim sat down next to the outlaw, and smiled again. "So you gonna go get us a job today?" 

"Sure...whatever. Do I have ta?" Gene inquired, knowing the dumb question would throw Jim into a frenzy. _Maybe it'll get him to act normal._

"Duh...we're FLAT BROKE. If you wanna eat tonight, you gotta go get some money, baka!"

Gene groaned, an actual, annoyed groan. He was exhausted and really would have preferred just staying home that day, but his young partner looked at him expectantly. _At least he's not upset anymore..._

"Fine," he said finally, smiling for the boy's sake and getting up from the table. "You look...I'll work."

"Got it!" Jim got up as well and headed off to find his laptop.

"I dunno Gil, what do _you_ think is wrong with me?" Jim whispered softly, running his gloved hands swiftly over the keyboard. He had to be quiet, for his partner was in the next room.

"Well, what are they about, Jim?" Gilliam inquired in his usual monotonous voice. The small computer/cylinder was currently sitting on the desk right next to Jim, his large eyes following the movements of the blond's quick hands. 

"Men...and...and strangling. I think it's when I'm younger." Jim ran a hand through his matted, light hair, and let out an exhausted sigh. 

"Well, what do they do? Are they the ones that strangle you?"

"Yeah."

"And then what happens?"

"Then I wake up...." Jim shook his head. "Every night it happens...it's always the damn same! I can't sleep either, once I wake up I really never get any rest after that." The boy shut his eyes, and after a moment opened them again. "Damn, it's really bad when your vision starts to blur, ain't it Gil?"

"I suppose so, Jim, but these nightmares could be from a number of outside influences. According to past records and tests, dreams, good or bad, are caused by what you see during the day. Sometimes, images in a dream are things that your brain has learned to ignore. For example--"

"Gil, do I really need to know all of this?"

"Well, there may be something here that can help you," the small pink cylinder said a-matter-of-factly, waving his mechanical arms slightly.

"Fine...go on..."

"As I was saying," Gilliam continued, "If you see a flower along the street, your brain learns to ignore it because you see it every day."

Jim sighed. "So? What does that have to do with my nightmares?"

"Well, as I was going to say, when you dream, it's your brain's way of acknowledging that flower really existed. Only, in your dream, the flower may appear with other experiences during the day, and seem more extreme. And...that's the end of the record that I have."

"But I didn't GET strangled yesterday, the day before, or the day before that! How could my brain be 'acknowledging' that I got strangled when I didn't?!"

"Well--"

"And besides! I really doubt my brain would ignore getting strangled!"

"I was just trying to provide you with information that might have been able to further help you discover what is causing your unusually frightening dreams." Gilliam crossed his arms almost a bit indignantly, causing Jim to smile sheepishly.

"Sorry, Gilliam. I'm just frustrated...that's all."

"I am sorry, too, that--"

"Nah, ya don't need to apologize." With that, Jim continued his search for jobs, rubbing his eyes occasionally to get rid of the blurred vision that was constantly plaguing them. 

"AHA!" Jim let out a triumphant cry as the screen in front of him loaded, revealing tons of jobs. "ANIKI! GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!" he yelled.

"Yeah?" the outlaw said, trying his hardest to conceal a yawn as he entered the room. "Gots any jobs up yet?"

"Yup! Just choose the one..."

Gene took a moment to eye the jobs, and then wrinkled his nose.

"Jim....these are all low paying scum jobs," he said simply, looking at the boy next to him.

"What?!" Jim took another look at the screen, wiping his eyes, and he too realized that all the jobs were indeed for the scum of the town. On the screen was everything from plumbing to prostitution. "But...but I don't understand. I could have sworn that I typed in differently!" Jim slammed his head down on the table with a loud thump, and sighed. "Dammit Aniki...what's wrong with me?" 

Gene didn't say anything, and instead watched his younger partner intently. The boy seemed unusually disturbed by this mistake, and was currently scolding himself over and over...

"DAMN! That's ALL I have been doing lately! SCREWING UP! Stupid stupid stupid..." Jim looked up at Gene, and for the first time the outlaw noticed that the boy's eyes were bloodshot. _Must be the lack of sleep..._

"Hey Jim, it's probably just because of the nightmares you've been having...don't worry about it!"

Jim's eyes suddenly widened. "You...you know?"

"What, that you've been having nightmares the past few nights? Yeah! You're pretty loud there, kid."

"Yeah yeah..." Jim's voice was suddenly calm, and soon he was up from the desk. "Why don't you look for jobs...I feel really tired."

"Didn't get enough sleep last night eh?" Gene almost laughed, stopping when Jim winced. _What the hell is up with this kid? I gotta find out what those nightmares are..._

Jim shook his head slowly.

"Nah." 

"And...you still don't want to talk about it?"

Jim turned away from his older partner. What could the outlaw do? "....I'm fine." 

Jim turned over once again under the unusually cold sheets, trying his hardest not to let his eyes close. It had been a hard day -- again -- and the other half of Starwind and Hawking was beginning to wonder if there was truly something seriously wrong with him.

"Let's see...." he murmured out loud. "I could let myself go to sleep, then wake up Aniki and have him wake me up a few minutes later... or I could just stay awake all night and not get any sleep anyways." He sighed. "Stay awake....have nightmares.....stay awake....have nightmares...." 

After a few minutes of chanting this, Jim felt his eyelids grow heavy. Soon the familiar feel of sleep crept up on the boy, and before he could force himself awake, he was fast asleep.

_I had to pay for that food, _the all too familiar voice said as Jim realized that he was back in the alley again. _And now you're gonna pay._

To be continued....

*sigh* I needed to write something else so I wrote this...pretty quickly actually. It is still in its 'unrefined' form...which means I might be adding/editing to this chapter later. Oh well! There will be more...why is Jim having these dreams? What do they mean? Will the next chapter suck more than this one? Find out when I get the next one done! If of course I get it done. With the mood I am in right now, it could be days....months....years.....okay maybe not that long. Please review people, and drop me a line! Thanks Hanmyo for the nice e-mail! And um...I think that is all I have to say now...


	2. Why?

New Page 1

**IN SAFE HANDS**

**By: Anime Angel ~^0^**

Gene woke up with a start, darting his eyes quickly around the room. He had heard something...but what? Then it hit him: it was Jim again.

"NO!" the boy's voice flooded into his room, high and shrill.

_Oh great..._he thought, rising out of bed. Letting out a tired yawn, the red head grabbed a shirt and slipped it on over his head. It was going to be another long night; he could tell just by how loud his younger partner yelled.

"NO DON'T! PLEASE!"

The outlaw sighed and made his way into the hall, his large feet tiptoeing quietly over the cold linoleum flooring. As he neared Jim's room, the familiar sounds of the boy tossing and turning reached his ears.

"Aw dammit," he whispered, swinging the door open as quietly as he could. Sure enough, the boy was turning over and over in his bed, mumbling, murmuring, and every once in a while letting out a scream or two. Gene just stood there for a moment, in the doorway, listening and watching the distressed kid.

"No..." Jim moaned, thrashing once or twice in the sweaty sheets.

"Hey...hey buddy come on." Gene whispered, finally making his way over to the bed and pushing the blond over on his back. With the sudden movement, Jim began to screech.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! NO ANIKI HELP!" the boy screamed, causing the outlaw to cover his ears. He was glad that the girls had gone out for the night....especially since Suzuka was such a light sleeper. Besides, Aisha would never let Jim hear the end of it if she learned that he was having 'bad dreams'. 

Gene's train of thought was cut off as the boy next to him kicked him as hard as he could, causing him to double over in pain.

"JIM! IT'S ME!" For a moment Gene's words seemed to calm the blond, but after a second he was right back to swinging his small arms wildly about. "Jim!" 

"STOP! PLEASE!?"

"JIM! WAKE......UP!" 

"No..." 

Gene was puzzled; why wasn't his younger partner awake yet? It had never been this hard before...and it was then that the outlaw noticed that Jim's breathing was becoming irregular. Instead of slow and steady, the boy was gasping, and once or twice his intakes of air stopped all together.

"C'mon buddy, wake up...you always do it ta me, now it's my turn..." Gene shook his younger partner hard, and suddenly the blond's eyes flew open. For a moment the outlaw thought that he really wasn't breathing, but after a moment the boy let out a small, ragged breath, followed by another.

"It's okay kid, you were just having another nightmare is all." 

"Aniki..." Jim gasped, his body freezing in the outlaw's arms. He stared straight at Gene, never even turning to look around. 

"Hey, you okay?" Gene ventured, lowering Jim back down into his pillow. His words were met with a shaky sigh.

"Aniki it happened again," Jim murmured, shaking slightly and still staring. "I...I didn't want...it to...."

The outlaw watched as the boy's eyes began to tear over, but Jim forced them away before Gene could see him cry. After a moment of ackward silence, Jim looked back up at his older partner. The fright seemed to have receded some...

"I'm sorry, Aniki," he mumbled, suddenly calm. "I...you can go back to bed now. I'm...I'm fine."

_Yeah right. _"Uh-uh, I don't believe ya kid. I am NOT leaving until you tell me what is going on! What are those nightmares about, huh?" 

Jim simpy closed his eyes. "Nothing," he murmured. "Don't worry--"

"WORRY?!" Gene was mad now. It was a little too late for him NOT to be worrying. "Jim, tell me."

"No!" Jim snapped. After a moment, the frustrated look in his eyes disappeared. "Just go back to bed, Aniki."

The outlaw was about to say something more, and make Jim 'fess up, but the boy turned over and shut his eyes tightly closed. 

_Fine, you wanna be that way kid? Okay with me. Just don't come crying when I don't come and wake ya up. _

But no matter how many times the outlaw told himself that he would just stay in bed next time, the memory of Jim's labored breathing crept back into his mind. Gene had a feeling that he was going to be back in the boy's room the next night, and the night after that, if something wasn't done...and quick.

It was much later the next afternoon when Jim got up enough courage to ask one of the girls about his nightmares. He wasn't sure why, but he felt so ackward about the whole situation. It was as if him having nightmares was...._wrong_. Like, he wasn't supposed to have bad dreams at his age, OR maturity level. In fact, he was a little embarrassed that Gene kept having to wake him up and hoped the outlaw wasn't beginning to think of him like a baby.

"Hey Suzu, have you ever had re-accuring dreams?" 

Suzuka looked over at Jim, who had long since ceased typing on his computer, and was looking at the assassin intently. The two were sitting in the 'dining room', both occupying themselves with some daily task. 

"No, I can't say as I have, Jim. Why...have you?" Her question was met with a cringe. 

"Well, sort of....but...I just don't know what brought them all on. It's like, they appeared outta no where." Jim's blue eyes were filled with worry. "I don't know what to do, Suzuka. I keep waking Gene up, and then he gets all frustrated with me."

"Have you told him that you've been having the same one over and over?"

"No..." Jim sighed. "I can't. He'd think I was stupid or something." The boy let his lips curl into a frown. "Knowing him he'll think I was just a little baby."

Suzuka searched the young blond's eyes for a moment with her own, brushing her dark hair back and trying to pick up something -- anything -- that would give her some clue as to what the nightmares were about. She didn't really want to ask directly, but when he refused to make eye contact, she did.

"Well, what are your dreams about, hm?"

Jim's head snapped up, as if he had known that the words would come.

"Oh...well...just jumbled up stuff really," he said quickly, turning away. She knew right away he was lying.

"Jim, what are they about?"

"Oh come on Suzu! I already told you--"

"First of all, my name is Suzuka," the assassin said, smiling at the use of her nickname. She actually enjoyed it when the crew called her by that -- it meant that they really thought of her as part of their band -- but of course she would have never let on about her feelings. Aisha would only then abuse the use of 'Suzu', so it was her best bet to let on that she didn't like it. "And second of all, I am a master at detecting lies.....and your's is most definately a lie."

Jim sighed, knowing that it was no use to continue the argument with Suzuka.

"So...?" The assassin waited expectantly. 

"Aw man! You're just like Gene!" And with that Jim got up and promptly exited the room, leaving Suzuka to wonder if his last comment was to be taken seriously.

Jim stared into the mirror of the business' dirty bathroom, his thoughts a mix of worry and frustration. Looking at himself now, he noticed for the first time that his eyes were bloodshot, and rimmed with dark circles -- the kind that meant you weren't getting enough sleep. 

"Damn, what the hell is wrong with me now?" The other half of Starwind and Hawking began to twirl a piece of his dirty blond hair, still gazing dreamily into the mirror. _What IS wrong with me?_ he thought again. _I mean, Aniki and I haven't picked up a job in weeks, so it couldn't be stress. And we haven't had THAT much trouble with money since we payed Fred back most of our debt. So what could it be? _Jim began to run all the possible causes through his mind, scratching off each one as he came up for another reason. Stress, insomnia, Tv -- they all seemed a little off, like they couldn't be the cause of his terrifying dreams. So then what -- or who -- was causing them?

"The only possible answer left is..." Jim swallowed as confusion began to knot in his stomach. That couldn't be the answer...could it? "The only answer is that it .... it really happened...but how?"

To be continued...

*Dum dum DUMB that was. Nevermind... *sigh* I am really tired and having some problems so it might take a while before I write anything on this or anything else. Hope you like it, even though it is sort of short and...not the best one I have done....*sorry* Feel free to drop me a line![ anime_angel95052@yahoo.com][1] or you can review or something. Thanks to DJ LA for posting my fanfics at [Hawking Enterprises ][2], and Hanmyo and Air Hound for sendin' me nice e-mails. See ya folks later! ^_^

   [1]: mailto:anime_angel95052@yahoo.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/naira3



	3. Day Dreaming

New Page 2

**IN SAFE HANDS**

**By: Anime Angel~^0^**

Jim felt a hand on his shoulder and whirled around, almost knocking over all of the contents lying on the tiled sink in front of him. He had been standing in the bathroom for about an hour, just staring into the smudged, cracked mirror before him. Now he realized that Gene had probably been looking for him, and apparently he was right. There, standing lazily in the doorway, was the redhead, his arms now folded. 

"Aniki?" For a moment Jim felt a frightened lump form in his throat. How long had his aniki been standing there? "What--"

"Jim...I need to talk to you." The words came out almost as a demand more than a request, but the outlaw didn't seem to notice. Instead he narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him, and pushed a stray piece of fiery red hair out of his eyes. "I need to know what is going on!" he demanded, for about the fifth time that week. 

"Aniki, I'm really tired and--"

"And why are you tired?" Gene snapped, causing Jim looked up at his partner in shock and shake his head. 

"It's just all the work..."

"Or could it be those nightmares you've been having? Maybe the fact that you've been waking up scared outta your ass the last few nights? " Finally, a very defeated blond let out a sigh. 

"Yeah, I guess so...but..."

"But what? Jim, I know you hate it when I act like your keeper, but you have to tell someone what those dreams are about. This is starting to get a little out of hand." The outlaw paused for a moment, and then continued. "I mean, look at you kid! You're a complete mess!"

Jim tried to push past his partner, but didn't get far before a large, scarred hand pulled him back into the bathroom. 

"Aniki, let me go."

"I don't think so." The boy suddenly found himself being sat onto the counter, and soon Gene was right next to him, his long legs dangling over the edge. "Okay, here it goes: You always nag me about how we're partners and all, and I am supposed to always tell you where I am, what I am doing, and who I am with...even if it is another girl." Jim only nodded, his blue eyes glued to the floor. "Well this goes the same way. We're partners, and so I expect you to tell me when there is something wrong...like now!" The outlaw grinned. "I may _act_ like a dumbass, but that doesn't mean I _am_ one."

"Coulda fooled me," Jim said, a small smile on his lips. He thought for a moment, before meeting his partner's gaze. "Look...you promise you aren't going to tell anyone?"

After a moment, Gene nodded. "Sure...I feel like a psychiatrist here..."

"And you promise not to make fun of me?"

"Yeah yeah..."

"And if you do....do you promise to dance on a table butt naked in front of the girls with the words 'I am a sleez' written on your chest?"

"Yeah -- wait a minute! I don't know if I wanna agree with that one..."

Jim punched his partner in the side. "Good enough I s'pose." He turned back to the floor, running through all that he could say... "Well, first off, they're all the same." He shifted positions, so that he was looking directly into Gene's dark eyes. For the first time since the nightmares had begun, Jim noticed that his partner was sincerely worried about him, which was rare for the outlaw. _What was it he had once said? 'I don't care 'bout nobody or nothing...'_ But then again, that had been so long ago...and it was before Jim and Gene had become so close to each other. The two were like brothers now, and almost inseparable. 

"And...?" 

"And--" Jim was about to go on, when something flickered in his aniki's eyes. The worry in them...it all seemed too familiar to the boy. An image of a younger Gene suddenly pushed its way into his mind...a younger Gene with that same, worried stare. "Oh no..." he murmured, his eyelids suddenly growing painfully heavy. 

Suddenly Jim's head began to throb, and his vision began to blur as he felt himself start to black out. Soon Jim was slipping off of the counter, his mind reeling with images that he had been seeing in his nightmares...images of the men, the alley, and then... _Aniki?_. A piercing jolt of pain shot through his head as it connected with the cold, hard tiles, and he let out a small yelp of pain. 

"Jim! What the hell?!" Immediately the outlaw was at his younger partner's side, picking the now limp boy off of the floor. "What happened? Jim!"

"Aniki..." Jim moaned weakly. He looked up at the outlaw with teary, unfocused eyes. "It's happenin' again....and I ain' even sleepin'..." he slurred, his eyelids closing. 

"Dammit," Gene swore, pulling the boy into his lap. The kid's breathing was slowing again, just like the night before, and soon the young blond was gasping desperately for air. "C'mon Jim, snap out of it!" But the boy only squirmed in his older partner's lap, whimpering and coughing...

"Gene! What's goin' on?!" 

_Thank God,_ Gene thought, motioning for Aisha, who was now standing in the doorway, to come over. "I thought you guys were all in Cailor City....aw never mind! Help me here would ya?!"

"What happened?" the Ctarl Ctarl exclaimed, kneeling next to the semi conscious Jim. " Suzu and Mel dropped me off to call home, and as soon as I walk in the house I hear yellin'!" 

"I dunno..." Gene carefully pulled the boy close to his chest, and squeezed past Aisha into the hall. As soon as he was there he put Jim back down on the floor, and proceeded to pry open his eyelids. "That's...weird...."

"What?"

"Look at his eyes... It's like he's looking around!"

"What?!" Sure enough, Jim's bright, sky blue eyes were moving side to side, and every once in a while rolling back into his head. "Jimmy! Wake up!"

"Already tried that Aisha...it's not gonna work." 

"Well, what do we do?" The Ctarl Ctarl shook the blond slightly, but when she got no response she began to shake harder. 

"Aisha! It is NOT gonna work--"

"I KNOW THAT! BUT WE GOTTA TRY!" 

Gene shook his head. His younger partner was getting worse, and there was nothing he could do! The outlaw was one to take action...not sit and wait -- especially when it was Jim who was in trouble. The boy's breathing was becoming more and more broken, and Gene wasn't sure what to do about it. What could he do anyways? It wasn't like he had stopped breathing...

"GENE! He's awake!!"

Sure enough, as Gene looked down at his younger partner, Jim's eyes shot open, almost as wide as they could go with fear. He gasped for air, coughing and hiccuping as he began to hyperventilate. 

"Ani...niki....Aniki...."

"Hey buddy, it's okay," Gene whispered, as softly as possible. Jim let out a small sob beneath him, and threw his arms around the outlaw's neck. It caught Gene off guard for a moment, but soon he was hugging the boy close. 

"Hey Jimmy...you okay?" Aisha wrinkled her whiskers in concern. "What in hell happened to ya?"

Jim only turned to face her with wide blue eyes. "I d...d...dunno....I--"

"I don't think that they're nightmares anymore," Gene finished. His usually happy and fun filled eyes were dark and grim."Jim, I want you to tell me what you saw, and I want you to tell me now...before anything else happens." Jim only nodded as his older partner picked him up off the floor, and carried him toward the living room.

To be continued....

*Well....that was not LONGER than the last one, but I figured this was a good stopping place. Hope you liked it! And if not, hopefully I will do better in the future...thanks to those that e-mailed! Let's see, there was Anikishi, Hanmyo, Airhound, DJ LA, *goes on in background* AHEM! Okay, all done. Anyways, thank you so much! I love getting e-mails. Found any mistakes, spelling problems, grammar? My e-mail's right here...so tell me! [anime_angel95052@yahoo.com][1] Oh come on. Don't be scared of me! ^_^ Just drop poor lil me a line... Also, DJ LA e-mailed me and has been posting my fanfics at [Hawking Enterprises][2]...so go and check them out! 

   [1]: mailto:anime_angel95052@yahoo.com
   [2]: http://www.geocities.com/naira3



	4. What's Wrong?

New Page 1

**IN SAFE HANDS**

**By: Anime Angel~^0^**

"So...?" Gene sat Jim down on the couch, and cocked an eyebrow at him expectantly. "These dreams are about...."

Jim sighed, wishing he didn't need to tell his older partner everything right then and there. His head was throbbing from hitting the floor so hard, and he was having trouble seeing everything around him....especially the worried faces of his friends. Since his little blackout, the blond was just a little more than scared and figured that it would be best to tell the outlaw what was in his nightmares...but at that moment he was extremely tired, and didn't feel like recalling the pain he had experienced.

"I'm wai-ting..." Gene chanted, almost glaring at Jim.

"Oh shut up already!" The outlaw only continued to glare, but it was more of a 'hurry it up kid so we can eat' glare than a mean, pushy one. "Fine."

"What was it 'bout Jim?" Aisha finally meowed, bringing her voice up to the highest note it could go and hopping onto the couch with him. She ran her long fingers through the boy's matted blond hair. "Monsters, bugs, ghosts--"

"Aw Aisha shut up!" Gene snapped, turning to face her. He didn't want the rowdy Ctarl Ctarl to say something that might make his younger partner hesitant about what he was about to do. 

"No, it was just about some guys." The boy lowered his eyes to the floor, sensing the tension in the room. "They...it was when I was younger and...." Aisha cocked her head to the side, waiting for the rest. "And they try to strangle me..." He looked over at Gene, who seemed to be thinking about the whole thing. The outlaw's eyes were glued to his younger partner. 

"Details, details, details," he said simply. Jim knew it was coming; he would have to yet again recall everything for them. As much as he wanted to forget it all, though, a little voice inside his head told him that talking was the best. 

"All right...." he mumbled, and proceeded to tell his two friends everything.

"Whoa..." was all anyone said when Jim had finished his story, and it was only Aisha that had responded. The boy looked over at his older partner, who was still silent, and a worried lump began to rise in his throat. What did his aniki think of him now? That he was a baby? Just a little kid scared of a bunch of nightmares? _No...Aniki'll understand. I'm a lot more mature than him anyhow..._

"Well," Gene began, looking up at the young, obviously distressed blond. "Those sure aren't from watching the Revenge of the Mummy..." He grinned, causing Jim to smile a bit.

"So...whaddya think?"

"I dunno, kid. It sounds ta me like you got quite a problem though. I mean, you passed out cuza it...I'm no doctor but I don't think that's good."

"NO KIDDIN!" Aisha yelled, balling up her fists and hopping up and down on the couch. Her high, scratchy voice became even higher (if that is possible) as she began to string off various self-opinions. "I think we oughta go and teach those GUYS a LESSON...THE CTARL CTARL WAY!" she cried triumphantly, causing Jim to roll his eyes. 

"Aisha, it was just a dream...that's all. I really doubt those guys are real ya know..." He grinned at her, however, and gave her a nod of approval. "But if anyone could kick a bunch of dirty asses, it would be you, Aisha," he said, obviously buttering her up to break the tension...but did the Ctarl Ctarl care? Nope.

"Why thank ya Jimmy!" Aisha smiled, but her joy at the boy's compliment was cut off as Gene got up from his seat.

"Hey listen, I think we should...I dunno...go see someone about this thing." He stared thoughtfully at his blond partner. "Actually, I think that I should sell ya...you're gettin kinda old," he laughed, ruffling Jim's hair. The boy only smiled back up at him, glad that he had spilled his guts, and not gotten a bad reaction. No one thought he was a baby, or a whimp, or a freak...and so it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"How much do ya think you'd get for me, eh?" he said, pushing his aniki's hand away.

"Ooooooh...I'd say...one or two wong?"

"Yeah right!" Aisha cut in, wrapping a large arm around the blond. "More like, half a wong..."

Jim started laughing. "Wow, Aniki, that's more than you're worth!"

"HEY!" 

It was much later when Jim and Gene had finally sat down to talk, and now they were discussing...well....Jim. Gene was currently stretched out on the couch, and Jim was sitting comfortably next to him, one leg resting on the table, and the other dangling down over the side of the cushions. The two looked both deep in thought, but at the same time there was somewhat of a humorous air in the room.

"So what ARE we gonna do about this thing, eh kid?" 

"I dunno, you could buy me a new computer er somethin..." Jim punched the outlaw playfully in the side. "This could be just because of..."

"You're weird attraction to all things metal and mechanical?"

"Um...sure." 

Gene grinned and glanced quickly over at the clock hanging on the far wall. 

"Whelp, it's ten, so if ya wanna go ta bed, now would probably be the time." For a moment things went silent -- and still -- but then the red head thought of something. "Ya know, if you want you could stay in my room tonight..."

"What?"

"Well, this way if your nightmares start up again, I could wake you easier." Jim gave the outlaw a quizzical look. "Hey! It wouldn't be in the same bed you dork!"

Jim rolled his large, blue eyes. "Well, DUH. But it IS a good idea..." Jim looked up at his partner, only to find that Gene had a dopey, lopsided grin plastered onto his face.

"Do you wanna drag your bed in...or should I?"

The darkness of the room seemed to shut out all sounds that night, muffling Gene's snoring, and even the rustling of Jim's sheets. Only the sound of the clock ticking could be heard...

Until Jim fell asleep.

Gene suddenly jerked in his bed, waking up as soon as the distressed sounds of his younger partner reached his ears. He rolled over carefully, until he was facing the end of his bed. There, just as he had arranged a few hours before, slept Jim. He was curled up tightly in his small bed, blue eyes shut tight. For a moment everything was so peaceful that Gene thought he had been imagining things, but then the soft murmuring started up again.

"No....please," the sleeping Jim sobbed out, flailing limply in the white sheets that now surrounded his body. 

"Jim?" The red-head slowly climbed out of bed, and stumbled sleepily over to where his friend thrashed about. "Jim, c'mon...wake up..." he whispered urgently, raising his voice when the blond began to get louder. "JIM!"

"Please....!" Gene moved quickly over to his partner's side as the boy began to let out small, short sobs and pleas. "Please no!"

"Jim wake UP!" But the blond only continued to flail about. "WAKE....... UP!" 

"No!"

"JIM!" 

As the outlaw began to shake the boy, Jim suddenly let out a series of gasps, and his chest began to heave up and down....the kid simply wouldn't wake up this time.

"Damn!" was all Gene could say, and soon he stopped trying to wake his partner all together. "Dammit. I'll just have to wait till it ends...hopefully soon."

_Seven year old Jim rounded the corner of the Smiley Cafe, hoping to find some morsel of food that he could eat...even if it was table scraps. It was strange, actually, walking around in the dream world. The eleven year old Jim who was having the nightmare realized where he was, and that everything wasn't real, but he was trapped in the seven year old. There was nothing he could do to stop his young self from walking up to the table of men happily eating their sandwiches. His feet moved independently, and he didn't have any power over what he was about to do._

_"Excuse me?" Jim whispered, looking up as innocently as he could at the large men in front of him. "I am sort of hungry..."_

_"Get outta here you little rat," one of the guys growled, taking a large bite out of a ham and cheese sandwich._

_"But--"_

_"I said LEAVE US ALONE." With that the man farthest to Jim's right stood up menacingly, clenching his fist. And that's when it happened: all of the men set down their food._

_In his mind, the seven year old knew that taking the food would mean trouble. But then again, if he didn't eat soon he would surely not survive another night in a trashcan. His stomach was already growling..._

_**No!!** the real Jim yelled in his mind, but the young image of himself acted separately, and soon the kid was snatching up a sandwich and running, knocking the table over on his way into the street._

_"Hey you LITTLE BASTARD!" one of the men screamed, but the young Jim only continued to run faster, making his way into a crowded market place...unknowing that the former owners of the piece of food he was carrying were hot on his trail._

To be continued...

*All right, that's all I could write for now. I have like my whole summer to plan, and it is already filling up! I will try and write more soon, sorry it's short! Any mistakes? Just e-mail [anime_angel95052@yahoo.com][1]. Thanks!

   [1]: mailto:anime_angel95052@yahoo.com



	5. Wow...it's DONE!

New Page 2

**IN SAFE HANDS**

**By: Anime Angel~^0^**

"Dammit..." Gene growled for about the tenth time that night. Before him, lying in sopping wet sheets, lay his distressed partner, still engulfed in the nightmare. The sheets were now almost transparent from the amount of moisture they had taken in -- both from Jim's sweat, and the water that Gene had dumped on him, trying to get the blond to wake up. The outlaw had tried everything but fire off a gun in the apartment; he had tried pouring cold water on the kid, he had shaken him until the boy's teeth rattled, he had tried yelling, speaking softly, and just about anything else he could think of. But still, Jim remained stuck in his nightmare. In fact, Gene wasn't even sure that his partner was even asleep...especially since the last time Jim's nightmares had hit, the kid had been awake.

"Mmm...."

Gene's head snapped up in attention at the small sound emitted from his partner. 

"Jim?" he whispered, thinking for a moment that the nightmare was over. However, the blond only rolled over and began to whimper. "Damn."

_The seven year old Jim screeched as something hit him from behind. He flew forward from the force of the blow, causing him to skid across the ground and drop the precious treasure he was carrying. Not caring any longer about the food, the boy picked himself up quickly and scurried into a nearby alleyway, trying to ignore the fact that his lungs were heaving up and down without mercy._

_"Hold still!" One of the much closer men chucked another rock at the small boy's legs, causing him to trip once again and fall farther into the dead end. Jim, exhausted almost to the point he couldn't breath, began to crawl back along the stretch of dirty pavement._

_"Come back here you little brat!" another yelled, the others laughing cruelly behind him. Jim shuddered in the cold as their footsteps grew nearer...he was at a dead end._

_"No...no please don't!" he whimpered, backing as far as he could into the back corner of the alley. The men were almost on top of him now, all of them grinning demonically. Why were they doing this? Judging by their size, they didn't need that food! Were they after the boy for just pure enjoyment? _

_But Jim didn't have much more time to think about this as he realized that the men were now standing directly in front of him, glaring menacingly. They were huge, especially to Jim, who was only about four feet tall, and very thin. The men in front of him were like giants, exactly like the monsters the boy had always imagined were hiding in the dark._

_"Now boy," the biggest one hissed, grabbing the much smaller Jim by what was left of his shirt. "You're going to pay...I had to pay for that food and planned on enjoying it. You filthy bastard! You just had to go and knock it all over the ground, didn't ya?"_

_"Please....I'm sorry!" Jim wailed, inching away from the rough, calloused hand that was slowly closing itself around his throat._

_"Really....well it's a little late now, isn't it?" the man sneered, his face now inches from Jim's. "'Sorry isn't going to help bring back my money...or my food! IS IT?!"_

_"No...STOP PLEASE! I--" The boy's frantic wails were cut off the man began to throttle him harshly, shaking the boy back and forth violently and all the while forcing his thumbs down harder and harder into Jim's small neck..._

Gene let out a tired yawn, and focused back on the still boy. _Maybe he's finally asleep,_ the outlaw thought. _Or maybe he's just at a quiet point in the nightmare..._

But, as if on cue, Jim let out a strangled cry of pain, one that echoed through the house. Shifting his position on the end of the bed and dreading the worst, Gene rolled his partner over.

"Stop..." the sleeping child moaned softly, his eyelids fluttering for a moment. However they did not open fully, and instead they stayed at half mast, pupils dashing wildly around underneath them.

"Com'n Jim..." Gene groaned, a bit tired of sitting up and waiting for his partner. Granted, he didn't want anything to happen to the boy in his sleep, but his eyelids were also starting to close involuntarily. More than anything the outlaw hoped that Jim would suddenly open his eyes, tell Gene that everything was great, and then go to sleep...a _peaceful_ sleep. But the more the outlaw thought about it, the more he knew that Jim wasn't waking up until whatever it was he was dreaming was over. "Well, might as well make myself comfortable..."

_"No...p.....please...d...don't..." Jim's small whimpers were of little avail as the men continued to strangle and toss about the poor boy. He struggled once or twice against the grasps of his captors, but he was just too small to do anything but cry futilely..._

_"You think that saying 'sorry' is gonna make up for your actions? HM?!" The man who had his hands around Jim's neck began once again ram him into the wall, cutting off the child's breathing. _

_The blond let out one final scream before his breath was cut short, and his vision began to blur...and that was when he heard a strong voice echo through the alley..._

_"Leave him alone."_

_"Who the hell are you?!"_

_Vaguely -- just vaguely -- Jim could feel the pressure of the man's rough hands let up on his neck, and the boy took the advantage to suck in a deep breath of precious air._

_"I told you to leave him alone you bastards!" _

_Blinking to clear his eyes, Jim soon realized that the voice belonged to a new-comer, someone who was obviously not with the brutes surrounding him. As his vision cleared, the boy saw before him a tall silhouette, one that stood strong and confident. And yet, even though Jim felt this stranger was here to help him, he said nothing. The men were still there, they still had their hands around his throat, and therefore they were still a threat._

_"And what are ya gonna do if we DON'T let 'im go? Hm?" one of the brutes growled. _

_"Look, I don't wanna fight you. Just put the boy down and get--"_

_"He's our's pretty boy. Buzz off."_

_And that's when the stranger lost it. In a blink of an eye a gunshot was heard, and the man holding Jim collapsed in a heap. The boy fell to the ground, eyes wide at the ragged bullet hole adorning the man's back. He gasped, quickly backing himself into a corner._

_"Now **leave**." And with that the men scurried out of the alley, not even glancing back at their fallen comrade. _

_Jim, unsure of whether the quickly approaching person was friendly or not, began to tremble, squeezing his eyes shut and backing further into the wall._

_"P...p...please...I...I...sorry!" Jim was shaking uncontrollably now; this man in front of him seemed much more cold and menacing than the other men had been, even when they were trying to throttle him! But as the man came nearer, stepping into the light, the boy realized that the supposed monster was...was a kid? He wasn't like the other men...they were older. But this one..._

_"Hey...how ya doin kid?" The voice was no longer harsh, but instead kind and warm. The shakin blond looked up nervously at the stranger._

_"H...hungry..." he whispered, his eyes wide. The man laughed, and for the first time since he had arrived, Jim could see him clearly. He was tall, and yet young and muscular. His eyes were steely blue, his hair a flaming red..._

_"My name's Gene," he said. "What's your's?"_

And that's when Jim snapped awake, his eyes flying open and his hair flinging beads of sweat. He panted...hard.

"A..Aniki?"

"Hey kid!" It was the same as the voice. Jim quickly turned over, only to come face to face with the grinning, goofy figure of his partner. "You're awake!" He slowly reached over, ruffling the boy's hair. "You okay?"

"Gene?"

"So was it the same?"

"Well...sort of." Jim lowered his head a bit, thinking.

"What do ya mean?"

Jim hesitated for a moment, before looking up into his aniki's eyes. The same steely blue eyes as in the dream... 

"Aniki...how'd we meet?" he whispered, wiping a bit of sweat -soaked hair out of his eyes. 

"What?"

"I mean...how did you..." He paused. "_Acquire_ me." He smiled, trying to convince his partner that he was okay. "I'm fine Aniki! Just tell me!" Jim exclaimed as the outlaw frowned.

"Well...I found ya in an alley--"

"With a buncha burly lookin guys?"

"Yeah! And you said you were hungry, so I took ya home...and after that you just sort of grew on me I guess...like athletes foot."

Jim smiled again, his eyes sparkling. He remembered...everything. The men, the pain, the hunger...and then his aniki. The guy who had saved him...the one who made him into what he was...

"You sure you're okay?" Gene looked at the boy in front of him, a bit confused. "You don't loo-"

"I'm fine Gene! And...and..."

"Yeah?" 

Jim hopped off of his bed, and onto his partner's. He looked up at his red-haired friend, and grinned when he saw the concern in the outlaw's eyes. 

"I don't think I'm gonna have nightmares anymore Aniki." 

END

*wipes sweat off brow* It's...it's...DONE! OMG! IT IS ACTUALLY FINISHED! Now, I know that some of you are wondering WHY the hell this thing wasn't out a few monthes ago, and here's the answer: I WAS BUSY. Yep! For once I didn't have time to write hours on end...But here it is folks! Enjoy! I know I know...the ending kinda sux...but I'm not really sure when I am going to get a chance to get on the computer again, so here it is. Yay... I am writing on some other fics, and if all goes well, they should go up sometime...this...year....I hope. *gulp* Well, I hope you like it more than I do! And if you wanna flame me...I invite you to. Heh...


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